Forum

Ref start times, finish times, fewer overs etc,
Have we as a Union missed something here, people are quitting the game because they are away from their families for too long, so why not try and make the grounds more family friendly?
Instead of a player saying to the wife or girlfriend (or civil partner) at 9am on a saturday, "right love, I am away to the cricket, expect me when you see me," if they were saying are you ready yet to go to ......CC for the day, they have a great play park for the kids (and you can have a wee glass of wine while they are in the park), would it not encourage the game to be a family day out rather than a day away from the family?
People say about late finishes, length of time away from the family and any other excuse they can think of, if people want to play cricket they will, if they do not then they will not, but if they are at the ground with their nearest and dearest, then they can have a family day out (to a degree) and still enjoy the game.
I realise that some grounds will have more difficulty with this than others, but the vast majority of grounds I have played on could easily facilitate a couple of things to entertain the children while their fathers play cricket.

re ed
Response
Compromise guys, 1pm until the end of June, then 11am for the rest of the season!

I do not see how this could be argued with why not get it to the AGM & give it a bash.

Jeez surprised to read big russeler leaving north down to head to inst north down man through an through...............good luck neil hope all works out ..........

Andy and Gaz

I'm not disagreeing with either of you about starting early because I'd be more than happy with that, at least once school cricket has stopped taking my players away. I've heard this discussed time and again and yet when it comes to each AGM there is no vote to change or else a vote to maintain the status quo. Personally I agree with Ed's view that there seems to be lots of discussion but no action.

Start times are simple ncu decide 12 stsrt have a pair and make a statement or clubs vote for change

On the early start times, if the games started earlier than we would have lost three schoolboys from last weeks team and their coach. Dont get me wrong previously i would have said 12 starts are the way forward. That could still be the case but it would force schoolboys to choose club or school cricket unless school cricket was to change to midweek.

re start times - I don't have figures for across the union, just speaking from personal experience. Of the senior players I know who have packed in cricket in the last 5 years (there could be 30 of them) I can't think of a single 1 that did it because games start too early. There were a variety of reasons but by far the most common was the time it takes up of their lives when they have work and family commitments. Outside of premier league (and maybe section 1) cricket is essentially a hobby and having to give up 10 hours on a saturday, as well as sundays and mid week matches is becoming ridiculous. Many clubs would appear to be struggling and this would seem to me to be the main reason why.

On arranging an earlier start - when a team requests this the opposition always assumes they are seeking an advantage and usually refuses.

PS - I work until 11.30 every other Saturday but I would much rather try and rearrange this if I could be home by 6 each week

re David Edwards - of course I have no evidence nor can I remember when this was last voted on at an A.G.M. I was simply reflecting that on last Saturday morning there was a bit of hanging about with no time to really "start to do anything" because I was heading off round 11:00ish - will be the same this week. Some of my umpiring colleagues would, from conversations, share my view and indeed one of them has posted in agreement. Perhaps NIACUS might make a proposal for next season.

Glad to see Lisburn won the appeal. Might be regretting this statement over the course of this season but if clubs can afford these guys they should be able to employ their services. Can only help to have quality players playing here for the younger guys to learn from!

re Start times

Would any of these postulations about the effects of starting earlier or not starting earlier have any figures to back them up or are they just personal feelings? We seem to vote on this on a regular basis and there is no desire to change so, on the basis of a lack of any other evidence, it would appear that the majority would like to keep things as they are.

The start times are a latest start time so surely if it was so much in demand by players there would early starts agreed for all matches.

Have to agree with Andy on this one I could name a dozen former players myself included that could be enticed onto the pitch for an 11.00 am start. I am umpiring this year and already thinking as much as I am enjoying it so far I would be available for far more fixtures if we had early starts. 11.00 am start, lunch @ 1ish, finish 4ish. Doesn't have to apply to all cricket but might encourage a few more to play down the clubs.

Re - Gaz

Spot on

Ref Davy and early start times - I would suggest that the number of people lost to cricket due to not being able to make an early start would be significantly less that the number previously and currently being lost due to getting home at 9 o'clock.

Note your point Davy but what happens to the guys you describe when the start times change to 12:00 and then 11:30 later in the season?

Last Wicket Standing.

Following on from Ally McCalmont’s recent post, and as NCU Director of Cricket Development, can I just also encourage readers to enter the Last Wicket Standing competition.
Everyone who reads this forum has an interest in cricket and I would respectfully ask that you consider spending £10 to enter what should be a fun competition to raise funds which will be directly allocated to youth cricket within the NCU. Of course, all those entering get the opportunity to win an excellent prize of 2 tickets and accommodation for 2 for the Ireland v England game on the 3rd September.
You don’t have to be an cricket expert to enter and you don’t even need to be a player within the NCU area – you just need to be interested in supporting youth cricket . I understand that all clubs are trying to fundraise themselves but your support for this competition would be most appreciated.
To enter visit www.northerncricketunion.org
Entries need to be in by Wednesday of this week (1st May) to be included in the first week’s fixtures.
Good luck to all.